Tragedy knows no exceptions

Newlywed bride Leah Fonda is dead, the victim of what appears to be a drunken-driving accident on Route 4 in Rollinsford.

Joshua Krantz, 24, is dead after an alleged alcohol-related assault which took place at the now-closed Page Bar and Restaurant in Portsmouth.

It should take no more than these two sentences to understand the dangers of misusing alcohol. But sadly, such is not the case.

There have been too many others to die in equally sorry ways, and undoubtedly more to come based on recent statistics.

Globally the World Health Organization reported earlier this month that alcohol causes nearly 4 percent of deaths worldwide, more than AIDS, tuberculosis or violence. Here in the United States, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcohol Addiction tells us:

■ Alcohol is implicated in the deaths of some 85,000 Americans every year, making it the third leading cause of preventable death.

■ Drunken driving accounts for about 16,000 alcohol-related deaths per year, only about 25% of all alcohol-related deaths.

■ One-quarter of all ER admissions, one-third of all suicides, and more than half of all homicides and incidents of domestic violence are alcohol-related.

■ Underage alcohol use is more likely to kill young people than all illegal drugs combined.

■ More than 1,700 college students in the U.S. are killed each year — about 4.65 a day — as a result of alcohol-related injuries.

■ Some 75 percent of husbands or wives who abuse their spouses have been drinking before or at the time of the abuse.

■ Health risks of drinking include increased incidence of cancers of the liver, esophagus, throat, and larynx (voice box), as well as liver cirrhosis, immune system problems, brain damage, and heart problems.

■ Alcohol-related problems cost the U.S. economy an estimated $185 billion per year in lost productivity and earnings due to alcohol-related illness, premature death, and crime.

We could go on if we thought more numbers would do any good. Unfortunately, they won’t. But what we hope will make a difference is putting names and faces to alcohol-related tragedies.

Leah Fonda is one of those faces. She and Brian Preiss, both age 30, were married on July 12. Eight days later she was dead from a car crash. The driver of the car which struck them has been charged with negligent homicide and driving while intoxicated.

Another face is that of Joshua Krantz. By all accounts he was a well-liked young man who “just started to live his life,” according to his mother. Krantz suffered a beating at The Page, allegedly because of a spilled drink on a dance floor. He was later found dead as a result of that beating, according to the Rockingham County Attorney’s Office.

Of course there are others whose names have appeared prematurely in the obituaries columns of this and other newspapers. Chances are you know some of them.

We hope, however, our words and those of writers whose letters appear in this issue of Foster’s will make a difference.

As you give our plea some thought, remember tragedy knows no exceptions. The next to needlessly die could be you or someone you love.